Shears



Sept. 5, 195()y E. F. BoRRELLl 2,520,905

SHEARS Filed Oct. l, 1946 f 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 5, 1950 E. F. BORRELLI 2,520,905

f sHEARs Filed Oct. l, 1946 l 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mmm Sept. 5, 1950 E. F. BORRE| 2,520,905

sHEARS Filed oct. 1, 194e 4 sheets-sheet s Sept. 5, 1950 E. F. BORRELLI 2,520,905

-sHEARs Filed oct. 1, 194e 4 sheets-sheet 4 Patented Sept. 5, 1950 UNITED STATES TENT CFFICE 9 Claims.

This invention relates to hand operated shears capable of transversely cutting tree or shrub branches and various other kinds of rod-like materials of various cross sectional contours, diameters, and densities. The shears of the present invention, with slight modification, may also be used for cutting sheet metal and other sheet and strip materials.

The principal object of the present invention is to multiply the power transmitted to the cutting jaws of the shears through the levers which operate the shears without requiring any substantial increase in the hand power normally applied to the operating levers, whereby materials of greater densities, such as wire, nails and small metal rods, or tree limbs, etc., of relatively large diameters may be readily severed with equal facility.

The shears of the present invention operate on the ratchet-jack principle, with one of the jaws of the shears maintained in a substantially xed position, except for a, relatively small pivotal movement thereof about a movable center, while the second jaw of the shears is moved intermittently in one direction, to bring the jaws together, under tremendous power built up by intermittent movement of a ratchet mechanism operated by one of the shears levers being oscillated with respect to the second of the shears levers.

The construction and operation of the shears made in accordance with the principles of the present invention will be more fully disclosed hereinafter, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the shears in open position ready to receive a shrub or tree limb of relatively large diameter;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the shears shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the jaws set for cutting twigs or limbs of relatively small diameter;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional elevation with the jaws set substantially the same as in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional elevation showing the jaws in the closed position;

Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view taken on the line 6-5, Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on the line 1 1, Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a detached perspective view illustrating a pair of cooperating pawls of the ratchet mechanism by which the jaws are brought together for cutting purposes;

Fig. 9 is a detached perspective view of a detail of the invention;

Fig. 10 illustrates a modification of the invention showing the shears mounted on a reach pole;

Fig. 11 shows still another modication involving an automatic release for the ratchet mechanism at the end of a cutting cycle of the jaws; and

Fig. 12 illustrates another modication showing the shears as adapted for cutting sheet materials.

As shown in the drawings, the shears comprise a frame I to which is integrally connected an operating lever 2. A second operating lever 3 is pivotally mounted in the frame I on a pivot pin 4. The levers 2 and 3 are spread apart by av compression spring 54. A toe 55 on the lever 3 is adapted to engage the upper side of a transverse plate 56 forming part of the frame l, to limit the spread of the lever 3 with respect to the lever 2.

As shown in Fig. 7, the `frame l is of a substantially U-shaped cross sectional construction providing ay longitudinally extending guideway 5 for slidably supporting a ratchet bar 6.

One jaw l of the shears is preferably formed integrally with the bar S at one end thereof. The second jaw 8 of the shears is of a generally triangular contour and is pivoted at one corner about a pin 9 carried by the ratchet bar 6.

A second corner of the jaw or blade 8 of the shears is pivotally connected at It to one bifurcated end of a holding link H. The second bifurcated end of the link Il is pivotally connected, at I2, to each side of the frame l.

Pivotally mounted on the pin i3 which is carried by the operating lever 3, in spaced relation with the pivot pin 4 of said operating lever, is an activating pawl I4 which is adapted to engage ratchet teeth l5 formed on the upper side of the slide bar `G, whereby, as the lever 3 is oscillated about its pivot ll, the pawl M, through the teeth I5 on the bar E, will advance the bar 6 in the direction of the arrow rc, moving said bar longitudinally into the frame l and effecting a rocking motion of the blade 8 around its pivot 9, thereby causing a closing of the pivoted blade or jaw t with respect to the rigid blade or jaw l .formed integral with the bar t.

A holding pawl It, which is pivotally mounted on the pivot pin A of the lever 3, drops into the ratchet teeth l5 as the bar 6 is moved in the direction of the arrow by the activating pawl I4, as the outer end of the lever 3 is moved toward the outer Aend of the lever 2 of the shears.

The holding pawl IG drops into the notches between the teeth l successively as the bar 6 moves in the direction of the arrow a: and retains the bar 6 in the position to which it has been moved by the activating pawl l.

By moving the lever 3 in the direction away from the lever 2, the activating pawl i4 is caused to slide idly over the teeth i5 in the bar t, as the bar 6 is `held stationary by the holding pawl iii, thus the pawl I4 gets a new purchase on the bar 6 for further advancing the bar in the direction of the arrow a: on the next movement of the lever 3 toward the lever 2.

In the foregoing manner, the bar 5 Ais intermittently moved longitudinally in the frame l and causes the knife jaws 'i and B to close in intermittent steps, thereby cutting deeper and deeper into the opposite sides respectively of any tree or shrub branch, etc., which may have been placed Ibetween the -cutting :edges of the knife jaws 1 and 8, while the jaws were in la fully open position. n

The pawls lli and I5 are tied together'by a bow-spring il having an eye I8 at one end ior reception oi the pin i9 extending laterally from one side of the holdingpawl it. "The opposite end of the bow-spring il is provided with a loop into which projects a pin 2i which extends laterally from one fside of the activating pawl M. Intermediate the eye I8 and the loop 2B, the body of the bow-spring il is engaged by a ystud A22 carried by a side wail '23 'oi the frame l, said stud flexing the `spring il downwardly at its center to exert a downward force on the pawls itl and I6 to cause the tips of the pawl to enter 'the notches formed between the teeth l5 of the bar 6 at all times.

In order to release the pawls I-l and i G'from the teeth i5 in the bar t, a cam 25 which is Aslidably mounted 'in the frame i, along :one side of-'the bar 6, is adapted to engage a pair of release pins 25 and 21, which project laterally from one side of the-pawlsii and i6 respectively, when the cam '2.5 is moved in one direction parallel tothe bar 6.

The cam 25 is constantly urged to move in the opposite direction, i. e., away fromthe pins' andZ'i, by a spring 28 compressedbetween yan abutment vlug 29 extending laterally fromthe side wallfii of the U-shaped frame vLand the butt end 3l of a finger release-'lug y32 extending in the opposite direction from one side of the cam plate 25.

As soon 'as the pawls M and-IE5 are released from the teeth iS-ofthe'bar 6,' said bar is moved outwardly from the frame I by a `compression spring'fi coniined inthe frame l betweenthe inner end oi the bar `(i and an abutment 35 in the guideway of the'frame i "With'the upper cornerofv the knife jaw 8 held in a substantially iix-ed position by the link l l, through the pin il), and the lower corner of said blade iaw being pivoted at -9 to the bar 5, the outward longitudinal movement of the bar l by the-spring 3d will rock the jaw 8 away from the jaw-i and cause said jaws to open to their maximum extent, as determined by the position of the'pin 'it relative to the pivot 9 of the jaw 8.

The outward movement of the-bar `i3* relative to the frame l is limited'by a projection'l on said bar operating in a slot 53 formed'in the cross plate 560i the frame I. When said projection isin engagement with the outer end of said slot,A

one ofthe teeth i 5 in the'ibar '6 isin proper position to'be directly engaged by the tip of the operating pawl I d, whereby lost motion is avoided when the lever 3 is again operated to move the bar t inwardly with respect to the frame l.

To vary the extent of maximum opening of the jaws l' and 8, the jaw 8 is provided with a series oi" openings 36, 36 at different radial distances from the pivot 9 of said jaw for the accommodation of the pin iii which pivotally connects the -upper inner corner of the knife jaw 3 to the holding link I i.

The series of openings 36, 35 are connected by an arcuate slot 3l swung from the link pivot I2, said slot being of lesser width than the diameters of the openings 3d, 36. The pin It is thinned and flattened, as at 38, to an extent slightly less than the width of the slot 3l while the full width of the cylindrical ends 39, 39 of said pin is retained in the iiat 38, so that normally the width of the iiat 38 lies across the slot 3l and keeps'the pin 'lill in a predetermined opening 36, but, 'turn-ing the pin substantially 90, the iiat d'a'ligns with lthe slot 3'? and permits the '.pin itl) to be moved 'into any one ofthe openingsS, 36 to change theleverage between the jaw rpivot 9 andthe pin it.

Thus, thethrow of the jaw 8 may be varied with respect to the uniform movement o'f the bar 7B foreach uniform movement of the lever 3. As the pivot 'it is `moved further away :from the jaw pivot ii, the .leverage for closing the jaw 8 `is'increased-and vice versa, thus the powerrequiredto close the jaw 8 on a large tree branch, for example, is multiplied without requiring any additional power being applied to the "lever"3 over the normal 'power required to cut av smaller branch.

For turning the pin iii, said pin is provided with :a 'butteriiy head viii, .and for returning 'the pin El to its normal position relative to the slot 3l, atorsion'spring 4i is provided with one end i2 anchored to the pin lil and its opposite =end d3 riding inthe slot 3l.

lf `desired,the lever 2b maybe provided with -a socket 5i?, as shown in Fig. l0, to receive the upper end o'ia reach pole 5 i ,for pruning tree branches, etc., beyond the normal reach of the person operating the shears; and the lever 3b may be provided with a pull vcord 52 or vthe like, having 'its lower end located within the reach of the operator,

As Vshown inFilg. il, the pawls Nl and it of the ratchet mechanism may be automatically released to permit the bar Eb to return to its outer position and reopen the jaws 'i and 3, when said jaws attain their 'fully `closed position. For this purpose, la lever `Si) may be pivoted, intermediate its opposite ends, in the frame l, with a laterally projecting pin 6i in one end of the 'lever 6U adapted to extend into a slot t2 formed in one end of va link t3. rlhe lsecond end of 'the link 463 is pivoted in the inner end of the bar '6b.

The release cam slide 25h 'is provided with a pin 'Gli which projects into a slot 65 in the second end of the lever 68, so that, as the bar 6b receives its last inward movement in closing the jaws 'l and d, the end '66 di the yslot 62 engages the pin il! in the one end of the lever tl) and rocks said lever to push the release cam 25h forward to 'lift the pawls it and I6 out of the notches between the teeth i5 in the bar "5b, whereupon the spring 34h will move the bar 6b outwardly and open the jaws 'l and 3.

The link '53 moves with the bar' 5b, and as the bar' Eb approaches the limit of its outward movenient, the second end 67 ofthe slot `62 engages the pin 6I on the lever 60 and rocks said lever to pull the cam 25h from beneath the pawls I4 and I6, thereby permitting said pawls to drop again into the notches between the teeth I5 in the bar 6b.

When using the automatic release for the pawls I4 and I6, the spring 28, which normally returns the cam 25 to its normal position from beneath the pawls I4 and I6, is eliminated.

The shears may be modiiied slightly, as shown in Fig. 12, to cut sheet materials. and for this purpose the blades 'Ia and 8a are preferably made with straight cutting edges.

In this case, the bar 6a is connected directly to the lever 3a by a link I4a, so that the bar 6a will be longitudinally reciprocated and the jaws 'Ia and 8a will be opened and closed each time the lever 3a is moved toward the lever 2a by hand and is subsequently moved away from the lever 2a by the spring 54a. lThe holding link I Ia is pivotally connected at I 2a to the frame Ia, and at Illa to the jaw 3a, in spaced relation to the pivot 9a by which the jaw 8a is pivotally connected to the bar 6a. The lever 3a is pivotally connected to the frame Ia at 4a, while one end of the operating link I4a is pivotally connected at I3a to the lever` 3a and at its opposite end to the bar 6a, at I5a. The bar 6o is slidably mounted in a guideway 5a formed in the frame Ia.

Obviously, if desired, the straight edge jaws Id and 8a may have curved cutting edges the same as the jaws 'I and 8, in which case the shears shown in Fig. l2 could be used for tree and bush pruning and sever a branch completely through each time the lever 3a would be oscillated with respect to the lever 2a.

I claim:

1. A hand shear comprising a frame, a hand lever integral with said frame, a second hand lever pivoted to said frame, a ratchet bar slidable in said frame, a jaw integral with said bar, a second jaw pivoted to said bar, a holding link pivoted at one end to said frame, an adjustable pivot connection between the other end of said link and said second jaw in spaced relation to the jaw pivot, and ratchet means operable by said second hand lever for advancing said bar to close said jaws, said adjustable pivot connection being eiective to vary the pivotal movement orf the second jaw for each uniform advancing movement of said bar and to vary the leverage on said second jaw.

2. A hand shear comprising a frame, a hand lever integral with said frame, a second hand lever pivoted to said frame, a ratchet bar slidable in said frame, a jaw integral with said bar, a second jaw pivoted to said bar, a holding link pivoted at one end to said frame, an adjustable pivot connection between the other end of said link and said second jaw in spaced relation to the jaw pivot, and an operating pawl pivoted to said second hand lever in spaced relation to the second lever pivot with a free end of the pawl engageable with the ratchet teeth on said bar for advancing said bar to close said jaws, said adjustable pivot connection being effective to vary the pivotal movement of the second jaw for each uniform advancing movement of said bar and to vary the leverage on said second jaw.

3. A hand shear comprising a frame, a hand lever integral with said frame, a second hand lever pivoted to said frame, a ratchet bar slidable in said frame, a jaw integral with said bar, a second jaw pivoted to said bar, a holding link pivoted at one end to said frame, an adjustable pivot connection between the other end of said link and said second jaw in spaced relation to the jaw pivot, an operating pawl pivoted to said second hand lever in spaced relation to the second lever pivot with a free end of the pawl engageable with the ratchet teeth on said bar for advancing said bar to close said jaws, said adjustable pivot connection being eiective to vary the pivotal movement ofthe second jaw for each uniform advancing movement of said bar, and to vary the leverage on said second jaw and a holding pawl pivoted in said frame with the free end thereof engageable with the teeth of the bar after each advance thereof by said operating pawl.

4. A hand shear comprising a frame, a hand lever integral with said frame, a second hand lever pivoted to said frame, a ratchet bar slidable in said frame, a jaw integral with said bar, a second jaw pivoted to said bar, a holding link pivoted at one end to said frame, an adjustable pivot vconnection between the other end of said link and said second jaw in spaced relation to the jaw pivot, an operating pawl pivoted to said second hand lever in spaced relation to the second lever pivot with a free end of the pawl engageable with the ratchet teeth on said bar for advancing said bar to close said jaws, said adjustable pivot connection being eiective to vary the pivotal movement of the second jaw for each uniform advancing movement of said bar, and to vary the leverage on said second jaw a holding pawl pivoted in said frame with the free end thereof engageable with the teeth of the bar after each advance thereof by said operating pawl, and common release means carried by said frame for releasing both of said pawls from the teeth on said bar.

5. A hand shear comprising a frame, a hand lever integral with said frame, a second hand lever pivoted to said frame, a ratchet bar slidable in said frame, a jaw integral with said bar, a second jaw pivoted to said bar, a holding link pivoted at one end to said frame, an adjustable pivot connection between the other end of said link and said second jaw in spaced relation to the jaw pivot, an operating pawl pivoted to said second hand lever in spaced relation to the second lever pivot with a free end of the pawl engageable with the ratchet teeth on said bar for advancing said bar to close said jaws, said adjustable pivot connection being effective to vary the pivotal movement of the second jaw for each uniform advancing movement of said bar, and to vary the leverage on said second jaw a holding pawl pivoted in said frame with the free end thereof engageable with the teeth of the bar after each advance thereof by said operating pawl, common release means carried by said frame for releasing both of said pawls. from the teeth on said bar, and spring means for moving said bar in an opposite direction to reopen said jaws.

6. A hand shear comprising a frame, a hand lever integral with said frame, a second hand lever pivoted to said frame, a ratchet bar slidable in said frame, a jaw integral with said bar, a second jaw pivoted to said bar, a holding link pivoted at one end to said frame and at its opposite end to said second jaw in spaced relation to the jaw pivot, ratchet means operable by said second hand lever for advancing said bar to close said jaws, a pin for effecting the pivotal connection between said link and said second jaw, said second jaw having a series of openings at various distances from said jaw pivot for reception of said pin to vary the pivotal movement of bivotedftosaid frame, a ratchet bar slidable in 's'fi-id frame, a "jaw'integralwith'said bar, a Second "jawiivoted to said bar,` a `holding link pivotedat one end t saidv frame and at its opposite end 'to fsaid'secnd jaw in spaced relation to vtl1e`jaw lpivt, ratchet I ineans Y'operable by said second nIO 'liand'lever for 'advancingwsaid bar to closersaid ""ja'vvsj'a pin for' e'e'cting the pivotal connection -betvve'e'n'said link"and said -second jaw, said second' jw having' a 'series'iof openings at various distances from s'aid jaw 'pivot for reception of l saidpin tolvarythepivtal movement of the jaw for each uniformadvancing moveinentof 4the `bannsaid second jaw having a slot 'ennectingfsaidseries of openings and saidpin f 'havingalfiat sided'portion of less thickness than .thewnormal diameter of 'saidlpin to slide in said 'slotV from `one ,opening lto another.

j 8 `4Ahand"shears comprising va frame, a lever said Vloana hnaldingA linlg'having kone end pivoted to msaid frame, an adjustable 4'pivot connection Avloetvfee'ntheother end of saidl link and said second 'jfvv'in -spaced. relation to the javv pivot on the bar,

ratehet mechanism operable bysaid lever to actuate'said bar infsaid frame and thus alctuavte said sec'nd'jawfsfaid adjustable pivot connection beig iectiv'e to vary the'pivtal' movement of the fated yto said trainee,l a bar slidable insaid frame, i.. a Jaw xecl on vsaid` bar, va Secondjavv pivoted., on

mentof Said, bar-,and to vary the-leverage said secondv javv,V a,pole,having` oneV end attach dito usaid frame, and a element/attached to said lever( and lying adjacent saidpoleyY v ,shears comprising ya ,'frfan'i'e,y a rbar kslidably mounted in said `fratrie, alever pivotedjto said frame,y means operable by saidleverto'lslide said I'Vbar in said frame, a jvavv xed to saidjoar1 awsecovnd jaw pivoted toesaid bar, a.k link pivotedwatfone end to said frame, and an adjustalg1-e'pivotvcon- .netion .betweenih ,other end .0f seid, link and said second javv in spaced relationv to y the,pivot of said second jawnon saidnbar, saidladjustable pivot connetion being eiectiveutocause different lesiflg meilemenis' 0f .Saisecprid jawtin, response toactuation of 'said lever and to vary the leverage on said second jaw. e 1, ELMER F. BORRELLI.

i REFERENCES -CITED The following `references are of record inthe le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number vName Date 122,753 Beigh ,Jari 16, 1372 1,023,093 ottinger Apr9, 1912 A 1,214,473 Jenner .Jano, 191.7 1,531,688 Bushj Mar. `:31,1925 1,814,790 vEdwards Ju1yff14,1931 1,967,960 McMem'ar July 24, 1934 

